PX column: This can't go on any longer at City Hall. Who'll step up to oust Harry Black?

After Mayor John Cranley has asked for Harry Black's resignation, Black said that he has no intentions of resigning.
The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran

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Councilman Greg Landsman listen to testimony at the at council's Law and Public Safety Committee meeting where Kyle Plush's death was discussed inside the Council Chambers at City Hall in downtown Cincinnati Tuesday, April 17, 2018.(Photo: The Enquirer/Meg Vogel)Buy Photo

Who is going to break from City Council's Progressive 5 and support ousting Black? It just takes one to be the hero of the moment, flip the majority and put an end to this trivial, ego-driven stalemate between the mayor and city manager.

Greg Landsman and Chris Seelbach, how about it? Maybe a dead teenager failed by a broken 911 system will be enough to convince them to get rid of Black, who as the city's top administrator is in charge of the emergency communications center.

Why Landsman could flip

Landsman has been peeved after hearing five hours of testimony from 911 center employees and cops detailing the dire straits of the emergency system. I grabbed his arm to catch him for a quick interview after that meeting on Tuesday. Landsman was literally shaking. His eyes were bloodshot from tearing up all afternoon.

Landsman isn't talking publicly about Black's job status, but it's believed the councilman wasn't happy with the city manager's performance in the meeting. Black seemed to deflect blame for a troubled 911 center, a system that failed to rescue 16-year-old Plush as he suffocated to death in the back of his Honda Odyssey on April 10. At one point, Black said "pushback" hindered him from making some changes.

Politically, Landsman has been in a pickle ever since Cranley called for Black to go six weeks ago. On one hand, big-money, pro-Cranley donors helped get Landsman elected for the first time last year. Cranley put pressure on Landsman to support the mayor's buyout offer last month.

On the other hand, Landsman wants to get re-elected in 2021 and thus stay on Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld's good side, with the possibility he could be the next mayor. Sittenfeld rallied the Progressive 5 to reject Cranley's attempts to get Black to take an 18-month, $423,000 severance package.

Sittenfeld has since proposed his own buyout package – an eight-month, $174,000 deal. It passed, but Black wasn't required to take it. If he resigns or gets fired before April 30, he gets the eight-month package.

Part of Sittenfeld's effort to keep Black has been to win favor with some prominent African-American leaders who've come to the city manager's defense. African-American voters are critical, and Landsman has been concerned about going against ex-Mayor Dwight Tillery and the local NAACP.

Landsman is a good guy who wants to be seen as a peacemaker and someone willing to work with both sides of the political aisle. He has a chance to put peace over politics.

WHY SEELBACH COULD FLIP

The third-term councilman might dislike Black more than anyone on Council. Seelbach felt ignored by Black for more than three years, up until the time Cranley wanted him out amid retaliation complaints made by city employees against the city manager. But Seelbach dislikes Cranley even more, and that's why he joined fellow progressives to keep Black.

It could be different now after Plush's death. For years, Seelbach has been among few elected officials who have repeatedly been calling for the 911 center to be fixed. He had a bad experience himself with the center last year when his car was broken into. He called 911. No one answered.

Politically, it's not a risk for Seelbach to vote Black out. Seelbach is term-limited in 2021, and he has no plans to run for another office. He recently closed his campaign account.

YOUR MOVE, MAYOR

It's Cranley's job to go to Landsman, Seelbach or anyone else to ask if they'd support firing the city manager. Under city law, only the mayor can bring forth legislation to hire or fire the city manager. It then takes a vote of Council.

Let's be clear: Black's ouster is not the only thing that needs to happen to fix the 911 center and clean up the cesspool on Plum Street. The mayor's behavior must be addressed. But ousting Black is the easiest, most logical move City Council can make right now.

The city can't have another child, man or woman suffer the way Kyle Plush did. It can't have anymore days like Wednesday, when Cranley told Politics Extra that, according to what Sittenfeld told the mayor recently, Black should go to Alcoholic's Anonymous. The city manager countered with a memo accusing the mayor of making unethical, pay-to-play economic development deals.